Southern California Injury Law Blog

At about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29th, a 23-year-old woman was seriously injured in a bicycle accident in San Diego. While traveling south on College Avenue, the driver of a Hyundai SUV attempted to pass the cyclist, who was riding in the slow lane, but instead collided with her. The impact threw the woman to the ground, causing her to sustain multiple facial fractures. The driver remained at the scene, explains a California personal injury lawyer.

San Diego County accounted for 9 of the 107 fatalities and 991 of the 12,043 injuries suffered by cyclists in traffic accidents throughout the state in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. The California Office of Traffic Safety compares that accident statistics of counties with similar populations, giving those with the poorest records the highest rankings, with 1st place considered the worst. That year, San Diego ranked 18th out of 58 counties for bicycle safety.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the woman who was seriously injured in the bicycle accident in San Diego yesterday a full recovery.

Resources for accident victims, including books and articles on the injury claims process, are available to the public free of charge.

To request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Shortly before 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 24th, 48-year-old Marcos Stead was killed in a pedestrian accident in Huntington Beach. While crossing near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue, Stead was struck by a BMW X5 sedan. The driver stopped to administer aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities are investigating the accident and have requested that witnesses call 714-536-5670, explains an Orange County injury attorney.

Huntington Beach accounted for 3 of the 41 fatalities and 60 of the 914 injuries suffered by pedestrians in traffic accidents throughout Orange County in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. Statewide pedestrian fatalities decreased by 9.2 percent, from 620 in 2008 to 563 in 2009.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Marcos Stead, the pedestrian who was killed last Thursday in Huntington Beach.

The Orange County Register originally reported this accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including information on pedestrian rights and books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an Orange County injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

Shortly before 7:00 a.m. on Friday, November 18th, a woman was killed in a truck on Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano. While traveling westbound, 18-year-old Francisco Jesus Ochoa veered off the road and crashed into a tree, the impact killing his female passenger. Ochoa was transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for serious injuries, where he was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. Authorities are investigating whether alcohol, speeding, or reckless driving were factors in the accident and have requested that witnesses call 949-559-7888, explains an auto accident lawyer in Orange County.

San Juan Capistrano accounted for 1 of the 101 fatalities and 193 of the 16,620 injuries suffered by motor vehicle occupants in crashes throughout Orange County in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, traffic fatalities in the state decreased by 10.3 percent, from 3,434 to 3,081.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the woman who was killed in the truck accident on Ortega Highway last Friday.

The Orange County Register originally reported this San Juan Capistrano accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an auto accident lawyer in Orange County, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

At about 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 12th, 35-year-old cyclist Romeo Jimenez-Zavaleta suffered major trauma during a collision with an Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus in Laguna Hills. The bus struck Jimenez-Zavaleta while turning right onto Alicia Parkway from Paseo de Valencia. He was transported to a local hospital, where his injuries proved fatal. Authorities are investigating the bicycle accident, explains an Orange County injury lawyer.

Laguna Hills accounted for none of the 12 fatalities and 8 of the 1,201 injuries suffered by cyclists in traffic accidents in Orange County in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, the number of bicyclists killed in crashes throughout the state decreased by 9.2 percent, from 109 fatalities in 2008 to 99 in 2009.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Romeo Jimenez-Zavaleta, the cyclist who suffered fatal injuries in the collision with the OCTA bus last Saturday.

The Orange County Register originally reported this Laguna Hills accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with an Orange County injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

At about 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9th, a USC student was critically injured in a motorcycle collision with a hit-and-run driver in Los Angeles. While traveling near the intersection of Vermont and Lexington avenues in a burgundy 1993 GMC Safari van, the driver struck the 21-year-old motorcyclist and fled the scene. He was transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for his injuries, including multiple fractures. Witnesses described the driver as a 5-foot 5-inch tall, 170 to 190-pound male Latino, aged 35 to 45-years-old. Authorities have requested that anyone with information about this incident call Detective Josephine Mapson at (213) 972-1840 or (800) 222-8477 to leave tips anonymously, explains a California personal injury lawyer.

Los Angeles County accounted for 80 of the 383 fatalities and 2,709 of the 10,479 injuries suffered by motorcyclists throughout California in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, 29.6 fewer motorcyclists were killed in traffic accidents than in 2008, the first decline since 1998 and the end of an 11-year, 175 percent increase.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish the USC student who was critically injured in the collision with the hit-and-run driver a full recovery.

The Los Angeles Times originally reported this motorcycle accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, such as books and articles on the injury claims process, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury lawyer, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

At about 6:40 p.m. on Friday, November 4th, 32-year-old Marco Antonio Navarrette was seriously injured in a collision with a drunk driver in Napa. While traveling southbound on Highway 29, 38-year-old Zembya Matamoros lost control of his Mitsubishi Montero SUV, causing the vehicle to rollover onto Navarrette’s silver convertible, which was idling at a signal on Salvador Avenue. The impact sent the vehicle onto the nearby Wine Train tracks. Navarrette suffered a skull fracture and major internal trauma. He was transported to an Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. Matamoros and his passenger, 37-year-old Evan Soriano, were treated at a hospital for their injuries. Police subsequently arrested Matamoros on suspicion of felony drunken driving, explains a California personal injury attorney. Authorities are investigating the accident and have requested that witnesses contact Napa Police Officer John Metz at 707-257-9223.

Napa County accounted for 11 of the 2,373 fatalities and 862 of the 207,651 injuries suffered by motor vehicle occupants in traffic accidents throughout California in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, alcohol was a factor in 4 of the fatal and 89 of the injury accidents that occurred in the county.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to wish Marco Antonio Navarrette, Evan Soriano, and Zembya Matamoros a full recovery.

The Napa Valley Register originally reported this collision.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to speak with a California personal injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.

On Tuesday, November 2nd, a drunk driver struck and killed 64-year-old motorcyclist Tommy Kinard in Mariposa County. While traveling westbound on Highway 140 in a 2008 Hyundai, 40-year-old Tammy Lawhon swerved into the eastbound lane, colliding head-on with Kinard. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Neither Lawhon nor the child in her vehicle was injured. Authorities arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, explains a California personal injury attorney.

Mariposa County accounted for 1 of the 383 fatalities and 27 of the 10,479 injuries suffered by motorcyclists in traffic accidents in California in 2009, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. That year, the number of motorcyclists killed in such incidents decreased by 29.6 percent, the first decline since 1998, marking the end to an 11-year, 175 percent increase, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

All of us at Allen, Flatt, Ballidis, and Leslie would like to offer our condolences to the family of Tommy Kinard, the motorcyclist who was struck and killed by the drunk driver yesterday.

The Fresno Bee originally reported this Mariposa County accident.

Resources for accident victims and their families, including books and articles on the process of pursuing an injury or a wrongful death claim, are available to the public free of charge.

If you would like to request one of these free resources, or to discuss a specific legal matter with a California personal injury attorney, feel free to call 866-981-5596.